Банк-эквайер

What is Банк-эквайер (Acquiring Bank)?

Acquiring bank (acquirer) is a financial institution that opens a merchant account for a seller and accepts card payments made under the card schemes on the seller's behalf. The buyer's money passes through the acquiring bank and is then credited to the seller minus a fee. The acquiring bank is liable to the card schemes for everything that happens with the transactions of its merchants.

## How it works

The seller applies through a bank or a payment intermediary. The bank checks the business (KYB), sales model, website, jurisdiction, history and MCC code. A merchant account is then opened and transactions are routed through processing. The acquirer receives the funds from the buyer's issuing bank through the card scheme, deducts its fee and transfers the remainder to the seller on the agreed schedule.

## Why it's harder in high-risk verticals

Gambling, betting, crypto and nutra are high-risk categories. Acquiring banks for these verticals more often require a higher rolling reserve, stricter control over complaints and chargebacks, volume limits and separate approval from the card schemes. Specific terms depend on the bank and jurisdiction, so they should be confirmed in the contract rather than taken from other people's stories.

## Common mistakes

A typical mistake is choosing an acquirer without checking whether it allows the required MCC and geo. The second is ignoring the chargeback ratio: if it rises, the bank may freeze settlements or terminate the agreement. The third is confusing the acquirer with a PSP: a PSP often works as an aggregator on top of an acquirer and may hide from the seller which bank actually processes the payments.

## What it affects

The acquiring bank determines the acquiring rate, payout timing, transaction approval rates and the risk of account blocking. When changing acquirers, the descriptor and part of the payment routes usually change, so a move requires testing and coordination with traffic and support.